The real money in Andy Dalton’s contract has been paid. It’s year-to-year now and the questions about him, and coach Marvin Lewis, in the postseason remain.

The performance of young backup AJ McCarron turned a few heads.

The fact that Dalton’s deal is so manageable — signed through 2020 with no cap numbers over $17.7 million — means he probably isn’t going anywhere. But then again, it also makes it a very tradable contract should they ever want to go that route (teams were probing around on McCarron already this offseason).

This dynamic is at least worth watching as the expectations for the Bengals remain very high, the pressure on Lewis remains very real and the playoff curse lives on.

This team could end up much higher on this list a year from now.

14. Houston Texans

Talk to me next spring when Brock Osweiler is going into his second season there — and the last one with the huge guaranteed money attached to it.

Sam Bradford’s standoff with the Philadelphia Eagles could be nearing its end. Just days after the idea of Bradford retiring surfaced as an actual possibility, an Eagles player shared his belief that Bradford will return to the team within the next week.

According to Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson, “word on the street” is that Bradford will be back in time for OTAs. In this case, “word on the street” is actually meaningful, because Lane was citing players on the team who have spoken to Bradford.

“Is that going to happen tomorrow? Probably not, but you never know when it can happen,” Elway said. “We think he’s going to be ready quicker than a lot of people think.”

So how could this realistically happen? Well, for one Mark Sanchez would need to actually win the job and then not be great. That’s a totally feasible scenario.

Two, Lynch would need to be a perfect fit for Gary Kubiak’s offense. That’s also a reasonable scenario when you think about the quarterback and the system.

Russell Wilson has done nothing but win since taking over as the Seahawks’ starter at QB.

Like all of the great ones who once had their dreams dashed — Tom Brady and Michael Jordan come to mind — Wilson has a loooong memory. But unlike some others, he seems to truly take those bad times as a blessing now, and as a means to fortifying him for the challenges that would come. He has internalized it as motivational fuel, but in a far less toxic or negative manner than the way others might.

Even when he kinda sorta mocks O’Brien at times, mimicking his drawl while detailing the conversations where the coach was essentially trying to crush Wilson’s dreams, he did it in an endearing manner.